Keyword: close alliance

Other than creating an uproar when the 20th horse on the Kentucky Derby earnings list gets left out of the Derby field, Wednesday's Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Kempton looks unlikely to offer much to the Run for the Roses, unless one of four or five horses can come away with an impressive win.

A maximum field of 14 has been entered for the inaugural running of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at England's Kempton Park racecourse on Wednesday March 18. The race offers an automatic berth in this year's May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) for the winner of the Challenge Stakes.